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Detective Sergeant Elphas Dube (28) was arrested on Saturday following an inspection conducted at Mutare Central Police Station.
The minerals were part of diamonds and gold exhibits confiscated from suspects by the police.
According to world gem prices yesterday, diamonds were fetching up to $100 per carat.
Dube had failed to account for the missing gold and the diamonds.
He was still in custody yesterday assisting with investigations.
Sources close to the investigations yesterday said the matter came to light when one Superintendent Dube who is the CID Minerals Unit regional coordinator for Manicaland, Midlands and Masvingo province, conducted an inspection.
“That is when they discovered that 196,4g of gold and 5 174 pieces of diamonds (13 383,15 carats) were missing. This then led to the arrest of Sgt Dube who was the exhibit officer at CID Minerals in Mutare,” a police source said yesterday.
Nothing has so far been recovered and investigations are still in progress.
This is not the first time this year that officers from the unit have been arrested on allegations of committing criminal activities or criminal abuse of office.
In March, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission arrested two policemen from Shurugwi on allegations of criminal abuse of duty after they allegedly refused to investigate a gold theft report they had received from owners of three mines in the town.
Detective Assistant Inspector Bekhithemba Mkandla of the Shurugwi Border Control and Mineral Unit was charged alongside Detective Sgt Francis Gwashure.
It was alleged that the pair received reports of gold theft from management at three different mines in Shurugwi, but declined to investigate the cases.
The cases were received between 31 October and November 2 last year.
Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri has been on record saying the force will not tolerate any rotten apples.
He has been saying they will not hesitate to discharge from duty anyone found on the wrong side of the law.
Online Reporter